Banter sessions (inc table of all sessions)

Includes table of all banter sessions, past and future - see below.

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Banter sessions are given weekly on Wednesdays at noon via Zoom. They present a friendly, cooperative forum that aims to provide helpful tips and suggestions, with plenty of lively discussion! Nominally lasting for 60 minutes (with over-runs quite common), the format is:

• Introduction and Catchup - about 10 minutes whilst awaiting the latecomers

• Presentation on the topic of the day - 15 - 25 minutes

• Q & A session

Sessions are recorded, and the video, presentation, chat and leads are all made available via this site.

Sessions are nominally targeted at parish and town councils, and community groups, to help them understand and contribute to local actions aiming to reach Net Zero. However, all are very welcome, whether as individuals or as representatives of groups - and hopefully as presenters at future sessions (please see table below for availability of future sessions).

The table below lists banter sessions past and future, in chronological order. Clicking on the Title of any completed session will take you to full details of that session, including links to the video, and to any presentation that goes with it. From the start of 2025, the table shows the sessions in reverse chronological order, ie the latest sessions - and in particular future sessions - are at the top.

Please note that .pdf files are often used for presentations, to save space. Should you wish for the original presentation in full, please email hello@greatcollaboration

You can register for future banter sessions here

Table of Banter sessions

Banter # and Title	Date	Summary	Presenter	Organisation
91. Climate Café Listening Circles	15Oct25	What they are and why they work	Linda Aspey	Aspey Associates
90.	08Oct25
TBC	01Oct25	Neighbourhood Plan, Local Plan - review response	Sarah Whitelaw	Holme Valley Parish Council
Local Partnerships	24Sep25		Paul Bourgeois	Local Partnerships UK
Nature Recovery	17Sep25	At town and county level	anet Cobb	Shropshire
Norwich Eco Hub	10Sep25	...and its impacts	Steve Wiseman	Norwich ALC
Community "Generation Restoration" Festival	03Sep25		Maddie McGregor/Cami	Bristol City Council
Cornwall and Devon’s Warming Seas – Communicating Marine Life Changes	27Aug25	Bob Earll co-ordinates a major collaborative partnership in the south-west which enables stakeholders to communicate the changes to the marine life annually. His talk will describe some of the big changes taking place in the marine life of the south-west and then how the collaboration of 100+ scientists and managers enables a major communication programme which highlights the changing state of south-west seas. This approach has lessons for how regional climate change and environment groups could operate.	Bob Earll	South West Marine Eco-Systems
Climate Action Plan in the making	20Aug25	Online workshop to create a Community Climate Action Plan	Joolz Thompson	Community Climate Action
Devolution and County Based Networks	13Aug25	How can we keep local action going at a time of local government devolution?	Andrew Maliphant	Great Collaboration
Climate and Biodiversity Planning	06Aug25	An extraordinarily useful guide to parish councils for planning in Climate and Biodiversity issues	Kirstin Rayner	Gamlingay Parish Council
Community Climate Action | witness a plan in the making	30Jul25	Live, interactive session on creating your Climate Action Plan	Joolz Thompson	CCA Community Climate Action
EV Charging Points	23Jul25	EV Charging Points: a complete guide to selection,installation, implementation - and what to avoid!	Malcolm Bird	Steeple Morden Parish Council
Local Gov't Climate Action Scorecards	16Jul25	15 mins on local gov't climate action, 10 mins on using CE website to find info on your own council	Isaac Beevor	Climate Emergency UK
Great Collaboration Knowledgebase	09Jul25	How to use it, how to add to or amend it, Why you should use it	Graham Stoddart-Stones	Great Collaboration
Wellbeing matters	02Jul25	Avoiding Burnout and Finding Balance in an ailing world	Linda Aspey	Aspey Associates
Water Harvesting in Allotments	25Jun25	Water Harvesting at Allotments	Henry Clark	Peakirk Parish Council
Create your own Nature Reserve	18Jun25	Turn a little-used field into a flourishing reserve	Ben Wielgus	Long Sutton Parish Council
Postcode Revolution - update	11Jun25	Postcode Revolution - how things have changed	Jack Cooper	Postcode Revolution
Communities Prepared	04Jun25	Being ready in your community when things go wrong	Richard Hood	Communities Prepared
Great Collaboration update	28May25	Where things stand now on the GC website, and what is coming shortly	Andrew Maliphant	Great Collaboration
Climate Action Mural Project	21May25	Engaged the community in workshops to find out local problems and solutions to climate change and associated climate emotions and then put this into a design	Maddie McGregor	Bristol City Council
Net Zero - pilot template	14May25	Stage 2 on this work-in-progress project to create a default starting template for parish councils	David Morgan-Jones	Ewshot Parish Council
Libraries and Net Zero	07May25	The myriad ways in which Cambridgeshire Libraries (in particular) are working to Net Zero with their own facilities (heatpumps, solar, LED), and with partners and in promotions	Anna Mcmaho	Cambridgeshire Library Service
Corsham’s climate plans, our biodiversity work, running an ECO fair…	30Apr25	Corsham Town Council's beautifully detailed Nert Zero by 2030 projects being undertaken: notable for their clear setting out of goals, and measurements of success.	Garry Ford	Environmental Officer, Corsham Town Council
National Education Nature Park	23Apr	Nature Park is a 5-year programme, launched in October 2023, as part of the Department for Educations Climate Change and Sustainability Strategy. It’s all about increasing biodiversity in school grounds and children gaining a real connection with nature and having the skills to act on climate change. It’s free for every nursery, primary, secondary school, and college to sign up to in Eng	Martin Harrison	National Education Nature Park
Bats, Climate and Biodiversity	16Apr25	Bats, linked to biodiversity and climate; and news about the projects at Frampton we have been doing.	Daisy Finniear	Frampton Cotterell
De-carbonising Community Buildings	09Apr25	A practical guide to the steps needed to bring your buildings to Net Zero standards	Andrew Maliphant	Great Collaborationn
Lessons from Manchester City: first carbon literacy city	02Apr25	The advantages of making an entire city council carbon literate	Linda Foley	Carbon Literacy Project
Community Land Trusts and opportunities	26Mar25	The Middle Marches Land Trust in Shropshire, its goals, its achievements, and how it works - and its future potential; Tom looks at CLTs across England and Wales, the impact of whole clusters of communities working together, and the force for good that they represent.	Tom Chance, Janet Cobb	Community Land Trust
Green & Healthy Frome	19Mar25	Green and Healthy Frome is a partnership between Edventure Frome CIC, Frome Medical Practice and Frome Town Council. We are funded by the National Lottery's Climate Action Fund to deliver a wide range of projects which enable green and healthy actions at individual, household and community levels - with a new business workstream this year. We focus on the co-benefits of action on climate - namely 'health' and 'pocket' - to engage our audience as you can see at https://greenhealthyfrome.org/	Becky Lovegrove	Adventure Frome
Climate Change Gardening	12Mar25	Encouraging gardeners to adjust their gardening practices, to help mitigate the impact of climate change	Clive Boase	Climate Change Gardening
Local Climate and Nature Action Plans	05Mar25	Delivering our Response to the Nature Emergency Local Climate and Nature Action Plans. Matthew will be introducing the Local Climate and Nature Action Plan Toolkit, taking us through how it was developed and why, with an overview of what has been delivered through LCNAPs so far in South Gloucestershire. Talking about the value of Local Authorities partnering with and supporting Town & Parish Councils and Community Groups to ensure joined up thinking and action on the nature emergency.	Matthew Lipton	South Gloucestershire Council
Phosphates	26Feb25		Andrew Clegg	Martock
Create a Parish Environment Group	19Feb25		Graham Stoddart-Stones	Long Sutton parish
Working Group: "Smart" Net Zero approach	12Feb25		David Morgan-Jones	Ewshot Parish Council
Community Energy	05Feb25		Stephen Cockett	Wight Community Energy
Climate Emergency Declaration	29Jan25		Liz Reason	Charlbury Town Council
Local Nature Recovery Strategy	22Jan25		Andrew Holman	Bembridge Environment Committee
Knowledgebase data collection - and "How to create a climate change roadmap"	15Jan25		Graham Stoddart-Stones	Great Collaboration
DESNZ request for how to spend climate fund money	08Jan25		Graham Stoddart-Stones, Joolz Thompson, Tristram Cary	Great Collaboration, Community Climate Action, Geoxphere
2024 sessions below
Local and Regional Food Policy and Resilience	18Dec24		Daphne Du Cros	Shropshire Good Food Partnership
Really helping and enabling personal environmental action: practical ideas	11Dec24		Bob Earll	Himself
Carbon Literacy Project	04Dec24		Abby Charlesworth	Carbon Literacy Project
Climate Action and the world of Sport	27Nov24		Laura Baldwin	Olympic sailor for GB
Biodiversity Net Gain Guide	20Nov24		Gabriella Hayes	DEFRA
“Saving our planet is now a communications challenge.”	13Nov24		Katie Clubb	Forest of Dean
Climate Anxiety	06Nov24		Linda Aspey	Aspey Associates
Experiences with an EV	30Oct24		Ian Graham	Himself
Home Insulation Efficiency by Design	23Oct24		Graham Stoddart-Stones	Great Collaboration
Share More, Waste Less	16Oct24		Harvey McGivern	Olio
Water Efficiency at home	09Oct24		Beverley Rogers	Welsh Water
Postcode Revolution	02Oct24		Jack Cooper	Postcode Revolution
Why not Underground?	25Sep24		Graham Stoddart-Stones	Great Collaboration
Waste and Recycling Regulations	18Sep24		Matthew Boulter	Commercial Services Manager, Dorset Council
Bringing solutions together	11Sep24		Paul White	All about the Place
Biosphere Reserves	04Sep24		Chris MacFarling	Forest of Dean
Hay Community Resilience Initiative	28Aug24		Mike Eccles	Hay Community
Climate Change and the new Government	21Aug24		Ed Gemmell	The Climate Party (Leader)
Sustainability in Sport	14Aug24		Claudine Pearson	Great Collaboration
Peterborough Accelerated Net Zero Project	07Aug24		Gemma Birley
Programme Review	31Jul24		Andrew Maliphant	Great Collaboration
Younity and Community Energy	24Jul24		Michaela Cryar	Younity
Funding our Future	17Jul24		Joolz Thompson	Community Climate Action/Great Collaboration
Creating Biodiverse Woodlands (& ESG)	10Jul24		Michael Cunningham	9Trees (CIC)
Messages	03Jul24		Andrew Maliphant	Great Collaboration
Earthwatch - Fresh water Citizen Science	26Jun24		Sam Smith	Earthwatch
Solar PV and Batteries in your Parish	19Jun24		Alex Templeton	CEF/CLT
Climate Data Layers	12Jun24		Toby Bridgeman	Friends of the Earth (FoE)
Energy and Low Carbon Team	05Jun24		Adam Birchweaver	Project Officer, Essex County Council Energy and Low Carbon Team
Child-led Eco Refills	29May24		Lizzie Gimblett	Pupils Profit
Food Security Bank	22May24		David Dixon	Bridport Town Council
Community Climate Action workshop	15May24		Jooolz Thompson	Community Climate Action/Great Collaboration
MotherTree	08May24		Dan Sherrard-Smith	CEO and Founder, MotherTree
Parish Online and Great Collaboration pilot	01May24		Chris Mewes	CEO, Geoxphere
Resilience	24Apr24		Chris Adams	Bembridge Parish Councillor
Twenty is Plenty	17Apr24		Dilys Gartside, Belinda Bawden	Cyclewise Dorset/Dorset Council
The World Game	10Apr24		Graham Stoddart-Stones	Great Collaboration
Biodiversity Net Gain	03Apr24		Andrew Maliphant	Great Collaboration
Centre for Sustainable Energy	27Mar24		Dan Stone	Centre for Sustainable Energy
Carbon Copy	20Mar24		Ric Casale	CEO, Carbon Copy
Great Collaboration website developments	13Mar24		Sarah Battarbee, Graham Stoddart-Stones	Great Collaboration
Carbon Literacy	06Mar24		Belinda Bawden	Dorset Council
The importance of teaching Climate Science without fear	28Feb24		Maddie MacGregor	Community Climate Action
Sustainable Transport	21Feb24		Jools Townsend	Chief Executive, Community Rail Network
EV Charging Points	14Feb24		Sarah Battarbee	Grindle Parish
Beneath the Surface - River Evenlode	07Feb24		Jennifer Lanham	Cotswolds Natural Landscape
Community Climate Action Plan	31Jan24		Joolz Thompson	Great Collaboration/Community Climate Action
Climate Change and Digital Mapping	24Jan24		Graham Stoddart-Stones	Great Collaboration
Floods	17Jan24		Bob Earll	Freelance Flood Consultant
Biodiversity	10Jan24		Andrew Maliphant	Great Collaboration